Firefly
by Lore55
Summary: Aside from a few more notable members of her family Hotaru is a relatively nondescript little girl. She doesn't have an inhuman amount of energy, she doesn't see the future, her parents aren't the strongest captains to ever live, or anything like that. In fact the only strange thing about her is that she sees the spirits of the Zanpakuto.
1. Chapter 1

**New, first Bleach story. **

**I don't own much.**

"What will we name her?" for it was a 'her', all of the doctors insisted. A girl. A precious daughter.

The night was cool, the sun long set to leave behind the pale light of a waning moon. Its light shimmered on the surface of the pond, disturbed only by the occasional break of the koi that swam lazy circled beneath the surface. All around plants grew, their colorful blooms gone to bed with the rest of the world.

The couple sat on the walkway, stones marking a path through the courtyard that spread across them.

Clouds drifted across the crescent in the sky, plunging the world below into darkness. The woman released a distressed song, covering her swollen stomach with on hand. Her partner wrapped an arm around her shoulders, placing his larger hand over hers.

The darkness was broken by small specks, flickers in the darkness of gold.

The man cupped his wife's hand in his, pulling it away to hold in front of them. One of the lights landed in her palm, winking cheerfully even in the shadows of the night.

"Hotaru," he said at last. "To offer a light even when the sky is black."

Hotaru. The firefly.


	2. Chapter 2

**First real chapter!**

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**amgs: Thanks, I hope it meets expectations!**

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* * *

Hotaru was a bright child, as her name might imply. Her smile lit up rooms, her mind soaked up information and there was never a cloud seen hanging over her head. Her parents loved her, and after a few years of pestering there was finally a good day for her uncle to come visit. Or rather, for her to meet him.

* * *

Juushiro Ukitake spent quite a lot of time sick, and so he had been asked by his sister to keep a distance from her daughter until she was old enough to have a proper immune system built up. It wasn't personal, and while he wished that he could meet her properly sooner Juushiro understood. He would hate for his niece to catch anything from him.

The first thing he noticed upon stepping into the room was that she was definitely an Ukitake. The second was that she was adorable.

Wide green eyes stared up at him, a perfect mimic of those shared between all six of his siblings, including himself. Black hair, the same shade his had been centuries ago, fell long down her back, except for a strand that had been twirled back into a silver clip. Her cheeks held the healthy flush of any child, one that he had been lacking at her age.

Little Hotaru blinked up at him from where she sat on the floor, the sleeves of her pale blue kimono hiding her small hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes darted to his shoulders and for a moment she seemed confused before her father spoke up.

"Hotaru," he called, causing the girls head to snap towards him, sending a few bangs loose. Her mother twitched off to the side. "This is your uncle Juushiro. Say hello," he instructed.

Hotaru turned her attention back to him and gave him a wide smile, ducking her head in a childs bow. "Hello Juu-ji!"

Her mother sighed. "That's not at all formal," she scolded. Hotaru's cheeks puffed out with her pout.

Juushiro laughed, going to sit in front of Hotaru and her parents on the mats. "Hello, Hotaru-chan. I've been waiting a long time to meet you."

The girl smiled widely up at him. "How long?"

Juushiro smiled down at his only niece.

"Too long. "

* * *

After that is was nearly impossible to keep Hotaru away from her uncle. She'd even named her imaginary friends after his Zanpakuto, though no one remembered when he had told her their name. She would spend her time running around the yard with friends only she could see while Juushiro watched on, filling out paper work. Now and then the girl would come and pull him off the wood and into the grass, instigating a game of tag. She was so small and so slow even his illness wouldn't put it off.

She was also growing up to be a sneaky girl.

She got into everything she wasn't supposed to, ducked around and hid better than some of the Onmitsukidō. Juushiro had no idea how she managed it, her parents weren't happy that she could disappear entirely from their sight, but in the end there was nothing to be done about it.

Since he was so often sick Juushiro left the care of his clan in the hands of his oldest sister, Hotaru's mother, which meant that the girl was often pushed off in favor of work. Which wasn't so say she was neglected, merely that she had time to herself. Which for a child that young and that mischievous nothing good would come of it.

She never got herself into truly dangerous situations until ten years after meeting her uncle.

And that was a day no one would soon forget.

* * *

Shinji wasn't sure why it was him that had found the kid.

He wasn't happy though.

She was following him around like a lost puppy, looking ready to cry if he didn't take her to 'Juu-ji'. Juushiro Ukitake. Who even knew he had a niece?

She stuck to Shinji like a bur through the courts of the squads, practically holding onto his sleeve. Why in the world would she trust him to find her uncle? He had been told multiple times he looked like a pervert, or a mummy, or just plain creepy. She didn't seem phased by him at all.

That was why he was walking to the Thirteenth barracks, where apparently Ukitake was supposed to be. The little girl trotted behind him, her sandals tapping on the stone. She wasn't chatting like he'd expected her to, or crying like she looked like she wanted to. She just went behind him in her pink and green kimono.

The man saw salvation in the form of one of the other captains, Shunsui, who almost always knew where the sick man was. The man started taking longer steps to hurry the process alone, ignoring the startled squawk behind him and the increase in tapping.

"Kyoraku" he called, getting the man's attention. He looked away from where he was talking to his lieutenant, Lisa, toward the blond haired man.

"Hirako," he shifted to face the two, "What are you doing here?" Fifth squads were pretty far away. He wouldn't be there without a reason and Shunsui knew that. He was more perceptive than a lot of people gave him credit for.

Shinji reached behind him, picking the girl up by her collar. She started thrashing, kicking her legs out widly.

"Le' go!" she demanded, squirming valiantly in his grip. He ignored it.

"She's looking for Ukitake," he stated, tossing the girl carelessly to the older man. Lisa gave a horrified look to him and Shunsui caught the girl with little panic. He was good with girls wasn't he?

"Who is she?" He asked, looking down at the little girl now caught in the crook of one arm.

She huffed, crossing her small arms over her chest, seemingly unphased. She still wasn't crying.

"_She_ can hear you!" She glared venomously at Shinji. "I'm Hotaru Hozuki," she said, turning a sweet smile up at Shunsui, "I'm looking for my uncle, Juushiro Ukitake."

Shinji watched in disbelief when her eyes started tearing up again.

"I wanted to show him what I learned how to do, but he wasn't at home and I didn't know where he was and so I came here but I got lost and," she sucked in a rapid breath, "and then I couldn't find anything and everyone looked the same except for him," she pointed at the captain, "and he said he knew Juu-ji but he didn't wanna take me so I asked again and he said he would but then he _threw me_! And you caught me 'cause you're nicer than he is."

The words ran together at the end until Shinji could barely make them out. Barely. She had thrown him under the bus! And she was crying! The kid was playing them, with the cutesy talk and the tears and the wide green eyes.

That was cheating.

Shunsui patted her head, soothing the girl before setting her on the ground. She hid in pink and patterned cloth, poking her head out to stick her tongue out at the younger captain. He made an ugly face right back at her.

"Now now, be nice captain. She's just a little girl," Shunsui reminded him, looking highly amused. Shinji snorted.

"Yeah, she's your problem now," he declared, turning to walk away. He had things to do.

One of them being figuring out how the girl had gotten past the gate.

* * *

One thing Juushiro wasn't expecting was to have his niece come flying through the opened door ahead of Shunsui, hitting him hard. He leaned to the side, knocked there by the force of her attack. He looked up at Shunsui who shrugged in response.

"Shinji gave her to me," he explained. The white haired man nodded his understanding before turning to look down at the little girl who had made herself comfortable in her lap.

"What are you doing here, Hotaru-chan?" he asked gently.

She sat back on his knee, a smile lighting her face up. She never stayed upset for long. The girl held both hands in front of her like she was cupping water.

"Watch!" she ordered.

Above her palms a bright orb appeared, glowing brightly even in the sun filled room. Juushiro widened his eyes more than they needed to be, showing he was impressed.

"That's amazing. You have a lot of power, did you know?"

Hotaru nodded rapidly, sending her dark hair flying.

"I'm gonna be as strong as you one day, Juu-ji," she told him, turning her grin back up at his face. The light fizzled when her concentration waned. Juushiro smiled, ruffling her hair.

"I'm sure you will."


	3. Chapter 3

Hotaru was a smart girl. It didn't take her long to realize that her uncle couldn't see the twins that liked running along with him, or that his various stalkers didn't notice the odd folks that trailed behind them. She never ignored them, but when she became too old for imaginary friends she asked that if they wished to talk to her (or in the case of Sogyo no Kotowari, play with her) when she was alone. The only one who didn't listen was Sakanade, who had found her to be interesting after her demands that Shinji take her to her uncle.

Sakanade was neither benevolent nor malevolent reliably, normally leaning toward chaotic neutral in that she enjoyed poking and prodding the young girl, teasing her for simple mistakes and taking a short temper that sometimes lead to an awful episode of vertigo for Hotaru. She was also one of the girls strongest supporters in her dream to follow in her uncles footsteps.

The first time she had met the Zanpakuto had been the day that she had gone to see Juu-ji in the Seireitei. Amongst the confusing people and the fluctuating pressure of the air around her the woman had stood out like a beacon, the power of her and her wielder drawing the girl to them as it did with her uncle. The first thing Hotaru had noticed was that she was possibly the most beautiful person she'd ever seen. The second thing was that she dressed oddly.

The red cloth wrapped around her, draping in ways that no clothing the little noble had ever seen before did. It was trimmed in gold, the same color of her hair that fell just as straight at the captain beside hers did, twisted with occasional feathers and precious stones. Her features were proud and noble, and distinctly catlike. In each ear were five piercings and a small gap in the lobe. Her skin was several shades closer to gold than most of the people around them, and she was clearer than any of the none-uniformed beings around.

Originally she had been going to ask her if she knew her uncle, until she noticed that the man beside her wore the same kind of coat that he did. At the last second she'd changed paths, grabbing his sleeve rather than the woman's split skirt.

Sakanade noticed her staring though, and continued to bother her until she nodded yes, she could see her. The woman hadn't left her alone since. None of the Zanpakuto that realized her peculiar power did. It seemed that they were bored with their wielders only talking to them when they needed something.

Sakanade bumped her number of friends up to three.

Katen Kyokotsu pushed it to five.

It was a little sad that her only friends were parts of other people's souls, but such was the life of minor nobles. She didn't mind, it was okay. Once she was old enough she would be introduced to other children of her age and around her rank.

For the time being though she would content herself with drawing her friends and playing with them, and her spirit powers.

* * *

Rurichiyo found the girl of the Ukitake house to be weird. She was a lot older than she was but she was always looking around, over the shoulders of her guards or at corners where no one sat. Sometimes she would act like someone had said something to her when no one had said a word. And she drew the weirdest pictures.

Not that she ever let Rurishiyo see, even when she demanded. She'd once tried to force her and she'd eaten the paper! Since then she had only tried to look at Hotaru's drawing when the bigger girl wasn't looking.

Except for being weird she was nice. She didn't talk to Rurichiyo like a child, or even like a noble. Just like she was someone else. The little blonde girl liked it. So she stuck close, setting up as many play days with her as she could until the day she left for Shino Academy with a promise to come back as soon as she could.

That would be the last time she'd see her for almost a hundred years.

* * *

The Academy was both everything and nothing Hotaru had expected. It was huge, towering over her. The people around her were older, usually, with only a few younger. There was a boy in her class, the advanced one, that didn't look at all old enough to be there. His hair was weird to, a silver shade that she had never seen before.

Gin, that was his name. Gin Ichimaru.

Hotaru liked him, even if he was pretty creepy. His Zanpakuto was nice, albeit hyperactive. It was one of the few ones in the school that had already manifested. Hotaru had learned that until they were acknowledged by their wielders no weapons could manifest, period. So she had to talk to them before she could see them.

She didn't think it would be that hard.

She also didn't think that the first time they would be taught to try would be several weeks after she entered the school. She was not a patient person, but there was little she could do but wait. So she talked to Shinzo, and Katen and Sakanade.

It was harder at the Academy than it was at home. At home she had all the privacy she could want, all she had to do was step into her room to talk to her friends.

Now she was sharing her room with three others and barely had a moment when she was alone.

Sogyo no Kotawari was not happy that their long time playmate was busy.

She wasn't either.

It hurt that she couldn't contact her Zanpakuto in class. It frustrated her to no end that after a week she still couldn't say anything. She knew she had the power for it, it didn't make sense that she could talk to every other spirit and not hers.

Sakanade was the one who found her stewing over the failure in the corner of her room. The girl who shared it had left her on her own, the both of them going on a double date with boys from a few years ahead of them.

The woman stood beside her, eyes down on the girl. She lifted her gaze to the spirit, a firm pout in place.

"I can't hear them," she stated glumly. "My Zanpakuto won't talk to me. Why? I can see all of you, I can hear you. Why not mine?"

"It's not fair?" Sakanade repeated. The woman scoffed and promptly cuffed the student in the head, eliciting a startled yelp and a whine.

"What was that for?" Hotaru demanded, giving Sakanade an offended look. She was the only thing that Zanpakuto spirits could touch in the outside world. She was also the only person she could go to without their wielders around.

"It's not fair, life isn't. Get over it. Did you think that maybe instead of just waiting for them to drop their power in your lap you might have to make first contact?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Her clothes were held up by straps that connected in the middle of it only in the front, leaving the rest of her shoulders and arms under the protection a thin gauze with feathered embroidery.

Hotaru stared up at her, mouth open in surprise. She hadn't. That hadn't occurred to her.

"How selfish of me," she observed, lowering her chin to her sternum. Her uncle had always warned her that as a noble, even one as minor as Ukitake and Hozuki, she had to remember that other people were important to, and to put their needs ahead of her own when they were in her care.

Here was going to be her lifelong partner and she was forgetting that for them, swept up in her selfish desires and excitement.

Hotaru took a deep breath and sat up, crossing her legs and placing her hands on her knees. She looked up at Sakanade, a smile touching her lips.

"Thank you," she said.

The woman waved it off with a lazy hand, switching personalities in an instant before she disappeared, back off to Shinij Hirako.

* * *

Kazuhito Sawamura had been a teacher of the advanced class of the Shino Academy for nearly three hundred years, and in all that time he had never seen a student contact their Zanpakuto within a month of first trying. It was simply unheard of.

Of course, Hotaru Hozuki was an odd child to begin with. She wasn't even a child, actually. She was at least a hundred years old. Still much younger than he, but they did have younger students in attendance.

That wasn't strange, not at all. What was weird was how she acted. She seemed to have no friends but never acted like loner. She reacted when no one was addressing her and looked off into space where there was nothing but dust particles. He couldn't understand it.

Eventually he stopped trying. She was passing his class so it was hardly a danger to her career or anyone else, so it was put down on her reports and forgotten.

He didn't notice the spirit standing next to him, watching the pen move across paper while he snickered.

* * *

"That's not how you spell it."

Hotaru sent a rude thought to the girl who was leaning over her shoulder, fore arm resting on her shoulder. She was promptly flicked in the ear.

"I'm helping you," she chided, "It's wrong, you'll get points marked off. We want to graduate early don't we?"

The girl whined in the back of her throat, ignoring the glance from Hinata, the boy who sat next to her, and snickering from Gin and Shinzo on the other side.

Hotaru scratched the word out and fixed the marking, feeling her Zanpakuto pat her head like she was an obedient puppy. It had been like this since the day she had gone in and searched for the woman, finding her eventually. It had taken a while, but once she'd found they had hardly left each other alone.

The girl didn't mind, nor did her weapon. It was nice, after not knowing each other before, and their grades and advances in class meant that Hotaru might graduate early the way she had planned since her arrival. She would graduate early and go to her uncle's squad, that was the plan.

Sutāraito was more than happy to support her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hoooooly shit. It's been forever since I've touched this? I can't remember why I ever stopped writing actually, I'm definitely getting back into it. **

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**amgs: My plan is for this one to go between fifty and seventy chapters but it might end up longer or shorter depending on how things flow. **

**mytwistedview: I really want to!**

* * *

The graduation ceremony was not a grand event.

Friends and family were rarely present, unless they were of an ancient and noble house. Even those were quiet and reserved, the way her parents were with their quiet smiles and high held pride.

Hotaru stood tall, her chin lifted as she looked over the meager crowd that had gathered. To one side stood Gin, who had barely been there a full year, his creepy smile still in place. On her other was Jun Morita, a boy from the Hokutan district who had started the same year as she. Behind each of them was their Zanpakuto, smiling proudly.

Shinso stood behind Gin, his hands on the boy's shoulders even if he couldn't see the support. Shinso had always been a fun person. He was taller than all of them, with a fox mask pushed so it covered half of his face. A single grey eyes with a reptilian pupil watched the world, making for an odd, almost contradictory person. A long fur wrapped around his shoulders and body, covering a simple red kimono and black hakama.

Shinso had a funny way of talking, when he got excited he spoke so fast she could barely keep up and he rarely stayed still for more than a few seconds at a time.

This day was an exception.

Today he stood, still and proud beside his owner, teeth gleaming as pride rolled off of him at his little masters conquest.

Jun's Zanpakuto was a little girl, tiny in a floral kimono with a chain wrapped around her whole body. A farmer's hat perched atop her head. Sutorēto no Josei was her name.

When Hotaru looked out over to her small family a pair of arms wrapped around her middle, a chin rested atop her shoulder. Sutāraito squeezed her light.

"We did it!" the weapon cheered loudly in her ear. The cloak that she was perpetually wrapped in slithered around Hotaru as well, kissing the long sleeves of her white and red uniform. Stars danced ceaselessly through the dark indigo fabric, fading into black and soft pinks here and there.

The girl didn't respond verbally, throwing her own joy back through the mental link. It wouldn't do to have her family thinking she was insane on the day of her graduation.

Kazuhito Sawamura was the one that stood to their right, giving the same speech he gave every year to his students and to their new commanders, all of whom were present to witness this.

Normally a person was assigned a squad based on their talents and personality, decided by a teacher and given clearance from Captain and Lieutenant both when their application came through. On occasion, as was the case with Hotaru and Gin both one of those higher up would put in a request for a student who showed promise. Her uncle had, naturally, asked Hotaru to join him in his squad, while Gin was invited to Squad 5 by Shinji and his Sosuke.

Sosuke matched well the gentle nature of his Zapakuto, Kyōka Suigetsu. Kyoka Suigetsu liked riddles, and hide and seek, and was especially fond of magic tricks and pranks. Despite this he rarely had the intention to hurt someone. Just spin them around a bit. Hotaru liked him a lot, even if he did talk funny about his wielder sometimes.

Kazuhito finished eventually, and the graduates were given leave to step out, his final words of honor and respect practically going ignored as Hotaru slipped into the arms of her uncle to hug the man. Her Captain now too.

She stepped back to award him with a massive grin, pride in every line of her face.

"I did it, Juu-ji- er, Juu-ji-taicho?" That was as far from the right thing to say as was possible. Her mother hung her head in disgrace at the girl's absolute lack of manners.

"We raised you as a noble," her father pretended to mourn, slipping an arm around his daughter's shoulders. He squeezed her lightly, a small congratulations from a quiet man.

"Yes, and I have become a warrior," she reminded him, stepping back. She was still surrounded by the trio, along with three zanpakuto. Sakanade was standing next to Shinji, or she would have been there to. As it was she was too busy staring at little Gin. Scrutinizing him.

She would see her later, no doubt.

"We _are _proud of you," her mother made certain to declare, touching her daughter's shoulder lightly. They had not been her biggest supporters but they had never outright shot down her dream. They worried for her, Hotaru knew, and for fair reasons. Shinigami were not known for long life spans most of the time.

"I know. I'm going to keep making you proud," she promised, stepping back to smile widely up at them both. She was young for this life, but she was going to make the most out of it.

"We know you will," her uncle promised, smiling gently down at her.

Hotaru stood straighter in her pride.

* * *

When she had thought of being a god of death Hotaru had envisioned herself fighting hollows and protecting the souls of the innocent. Maybe a visit to world of the living or two.

She had not envisioned it involving quite so much paperwork.

Hotaru sat cross legged on the floor, staring up at the towering pile in front of her. The whole squad had insane amounts of paperwork to do, and given that she had managed to test straight into an officers position she got an extra helping. She wasn't even in a senior seat, she had just only made it into the 12th.

"Not what you thought it would be?"

The voice Kyōka Suigetsu made the girl jump, nearly out of her skin. She lifted her chin up, back to the zanpakuto before her. He was a tall man, towering, dressed all in white. In one hand he always held a mirror. The edges of his clothes fizzled and slipped away, as though he were mist and shadow rather than true form.

Sometimes the rest of him got that way too, sometimes he was so clear that it hurt her to look at him.

"How do you do that?" she asked instead of answering, brows furrowing in confusion. "None of the others can sneak up on me."

Kyōka Suigetsu smiled somewhat, looking smug. He lowered himself to her side, a long wisp of pitched hair curled rebelliously against his forehead.

"Can you find the reflection of the moon when the clouds fall in front of it?" he teased. Hotaru's brows furrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she didn't whine but she was exasperated. Talking to Kyōka Suigetsu was like trying to pick the rock out of the conman's cups. The truth was somewhere up his sleeve.

"It means you can't find me," he said simply, lowering himself to the floor beside her. He was so much larger than her young self, if she wasn't sure of his kindness then she might have been intimidated.

"You like riddles," Hotaru deduced. Fantastic detective work. "And no, it's not what I imagined. This is so, so-" she didn't even have words for it.

"Blase?" Kyōka Suigetsu suggested lightly. "Tedious, dull, mundane, stodgy, cloying, plebian, repetitive?"

Hotaru lowered her lashes into a pouted glower, her lips pushing up in time.

"Show off," she accused. The spirit reached over to pluck a paper off of the desk. It was a new development, before the zanpakuto had never been able to touch anything other than her. Now it seemed that in her vicinity they could interact with small object. Light things. Feathers and papers and brushes.

Kyōka Suigetsu skimmed over her work, checking what little she had managed to fill out so far. His face twitched so much she just _knew _he was about to laugh.

Rather than poke fun at the small noblewoman he set the paper back down and stood up, brushing imaginary dust off his pale pants. He looked at her, pale eyes meeting her own green.

"How about we take a break?" he suggested, "We can go feed the koi in Squad Four's barracks. Unohana likes you."

Unohana liked her, and so Minazuki. She went to Ikebana club every week, which the captain ran, and had grown up getting into mischief that more often than not resulted in her not only within the walls of the seireitei but also sporting some sort of scrape or cut.

Hotaru was not a graceful girl by nature, or by practice.

"It could be an important part of your mental health," Sutāraito added, materializing next to her partner. Her dark cloak was in stark contrast to the other swords snowy garb.

Hotaru looked between the two zanpakuto before glancing back at the paperwork. Her face twisted at the sight of it, scrunching up into something less cute than she normally had.

"Okay," she said at last, standing up. "I like fish."

* * *

There was more than just paper work for her to do, Hotaru learned.

There was also work to be done as a messenger.

This was, for Hotaru, the best part of her job. She got to see the other squads, explore whatever parts of the seireitei she hadn't already found, and still be useful to her uncle.

Others were not quite as happy as she with her new duties.

"Take it away," Shinji groaned, pushing the pile in her arms back against her chest. It wasn't even very big compared to what they normally got, but he already had a pile that went above her head sitting on his desk. At a smaller desk next to it sat Sosuke, who was dutifully filling out what little didn't require being a captain themselves.

Hotaru wasn't really sure why he has so much. In fact everyone had been experiencing an increase this month. She was still relatively new, and so didn't feel the need to ask about it.

"I don't want it," she complained, pushing it back against his palm, trying to force him to take it.

"Then give it to someone else!" he retorted, shoving so hard that, with a yelp, Hotaru went toppling heels over head into the door, tearing it down on her way. Papers went flying everywhere. Sakanade and Kyōka Suigetsu thought it was hilarious. Even Sutāraito thought she was funny with her feet falling over her ears.

Hotaru struggled to right herself with her sword digging into her ribs and her shoes tangling her hair. A hand caught her collar and lifted her up, off of the floor.

Bright green eyes blinked once twice, thrice at the prominent teeth of Hirako Shinji. He had them bared in a strangely languid frown.

"How in the hell did ya sneak in here when you were a kid?" he demanded, squinting at her.

Hotaru swung her legs back and forth, very used to this treatment after all these years. If he wasn't dragging her around then she was, more than likely, sitting somewhere on his person. Every since that day, decades ago.

The only difference was this time she was wearing black too.

"Ryūjin Jakka showed me," she said flatly. Sakanade snorted. That was a lie. It had been Katen that had showed her the secret passages.

Shinji rolled his eyes and tossed her carelessly aside. The girl landed with just a small skip on the slippery floors that he kept.

"Look at the mess you made," he accused, pointing to the floor. Hotaru made a sound of offense.

"It wasn't me! You're the one that pushed me over!"

"You should have stayed upright."

"Captain," Sosuke cut into their light bickering, "Can you sign this?"

Shinji stared blankly at him, like he'd just asked something stupid. "Put it on top of the pile," he dismissed, flapping his hand at the lieutenant. Hotaru did not envy him his position. She had no desire to take it from anyone, even her own uncle.

It was way too much office work.

"Hey, hey, Shinji?" she never had gotten the hang of calling him by his title. He never had corrected her.

"Wadda ya want now?" he turned back to her, propping a hand on his hip. With his long blond hair he might look like a woman. If he had a prettier face.

Hotaru huffed. "I was going to offer to help, but if you're going to be like that, never mind," she crossed her arms hotly. Shinji gave her a flat look.

"Then don't," he said without blinking, "Doesn't Ukitake need you back?"

A little stung the girl kicked one of the papers at him and swung around, walking away.

"I don't know but I'll find out!"

What a jerk.


	5. Chapter 5

goddragonking: Thank you so much! I hope you like this next one too!

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LaserLightCanon: Aizen should rot in paperwork hell.

k123: What a terrible fate for our heroine.

Guest from July 19th: Thanks!

* * *

Juushiro was on edge.

Something was happening, he could feel it in the air. Something horrible, terrible, dangerous. Something unnatural.

He didn't know exactly what it was just yet.

It might have something to do with all of the changes going on lately. The new captains coming in, so many in just the last few years. It could have been the changes going on in squad 12.

Really, it may well have been that Hotaru was pulling his hair too tightly into its band.

At least he finally a lieutenant.

"Easy back there," he called lightly. The fingers carding through his hair lightened.

"Sorry, Juu-ji-taicho," Hotaru murmured obediently. "I've never done someone else's hair before."

He didn't think he'd ever tire of hearing her refer to him that way, however improper of a usage of suffix was. For a girl of noble birth, Hotaru was really very bad at being formal with anyone. Even the Kuchiki's, while given the right tack ons, were spoken too like any other.

The black ribbon whispered against itself as Hotaru tied it into it's proper knot, a bit further to the right than he was used to. When he lifted his hand to touch it lightly it felt almost the exact way it was meant to. Almost. There were a few tightly folded pieces of hair sticking out here and there. Some stray strands. Not bad for her first attempt.

"I think you did well. How does it look?" he queried, shifting back somewhat on the floors. Hotaru peaked around his shoulder to look at his face and went to straighten his bangs.

"You look fine," she assured, finally rolled away. Physically, onto her back, and then her feet again. Her childhood clumsiness was steadily wearing away.

Juushiro touched his hand one last time, feeling silly, before he stood up. His legs were colder today than usual. He might end up having another episode of illness within the month. He did hope not, especially since Kien was still refusing to accept a position as his lieutenant.

"Why don't you go over to Squad 5's barracks and make sure that Shinji isn't late?" he suggested lightly. Sometimes he thought that if he didn't already have claim to his niece Hirako would have taken her into his fold without a thought. She was a talent in the ways of Zanpakuto usage, and she got along famously with the blond man.

A bit odd, given that she was playful and mischief given form, while he was laid back as could be. The only similarity he could think of was how immature the captain could be at times.

Hotaru smiled brightly and brushed her pants off.

"Okay! Have fun at the meeting," she wished, and trotted off quickly, vanishing around the sliding paper door before he could say anything more. His pants legs twisted around his legs, startling the captain. He hadn't felt a breeze before.

Juushiro brushed it off after another moment of looking around for the source. Strange things had been happening lately, he would figure out the reasoning later.

* * *

Yorunohyō wasn't usually around the barracks of any squad that wasn't two. In fact, as she went jogging by the great black cat Hotaru was pretty sure that this was the first time she had ever seen her anywhere at all that wasn't a captains meeting.

The odd sight set Hotaru so on edge, and displaced her attention so badly she went careening around a corner without looking ahead of her, and smashed right into the much stronger body of a familiar Lieutenant. Where as his captain would have let Hotaru go sprawling across the ground Sosuke caught her by the back of her shirt and kept her up.

Bright green eyes blinked up at the concerned brown, a barrier of glasses between them almost shining the sight away.

"Sosuke," she recognized, scrambling to get her feet back beneath her. He was kind enough to hold her steady until she had leveled off.

"Hotaru-chan, what are you doing here?" he asked, finally releasing her. Hotaru didn't lift her eyes to look at the zanpakuto peering over his shoulder at her.

She knew better than that.

"I was gonna drag your captain out of his room," she reported helpfully. A smile slid across the officer's face.

"Well I wish you luck," he declared, and ruffled her hair. Long black locks went flying around her as her straight bangs were dishevelled and joined by the rest of her hair. "I'm afraid I am needed elsewhere."

Hotaru smiled sweetly up at him. "Good luck!" she wished, and spun around him with undue glee. She was happy by nature.

It only took her another few minutes of navigating the twists and turns of her home to come to the room of the blond captain. She knew the way well after 9 years as a shinigami, and countless other years before that. Music floated through the paper, increasing when she pushed the door open to peer inside. Shinji was pulling on his long white cloak when her turned to see her.

"Hey, don't you ever knock?" he demanded, frowning at her. Hotaru met it with a chipper smile.

"Only when I think you're doing something weird," she replied lightly, practically bouncing into the room. Shinji squinted at her as she picked her way over to the record player, peeking around at his new vinyls.

She didn't notice something flying at the back of her head until Sakanade said, "duck," an order she complied with without hesitance. Something smashed the walls right where her skull would have been.

Hotaru squaked indignantly. "What the heck!" she cried, spinning to stare wide eyed at Shinji.

The captain looked more annoyed than anything else. "You should have caught that. Now there's a dent in my wall," he complained.

"You threw it at my head! I'm lucky I wasn't hit at all!" she would have to thank Sakanade later on for her help. Maybe she would give her something pretty to put in her hair.

Shinji 'tch'd at her dismissal.

"Just open it already," he demanded.

The girl gave him a weary look before she turned to pick up the parcel, wrapped up in plain brown paper. There was a white string tied up around the lumpy package.

"What is it?" she asked, turning it this way and that.

"Open it and you'll see," Shinji sassed. With a puff of her cheeks Hotaru plucked the string loose. It fell loose, and with it went the paper. She was left with two bizarre looking objects she wasn't sure what to call. They were some kind of odd cylinders made up of leather. On one side, this stiffer than the other, was a small set of spikes.

"What… are they?" she asked, turning them over again. There were strings on the softer side.

"They're new running shoes from the World of the Living," Shinji explained, walking up to her. "I saw them on my last trip and, since you're always slipping around everywhere I thought you could use them. They might make you less clumsy."

In spite of the insult Hotaru was more focused on the fact that she had been given a gift from Shinji. New shoes? They looked nothing like the ones she had on.

The girl dropped to the floor without warning and started putting them on.

"Hey!" Shinji barked, "Don't put those on in here! You'll scratch my floors."

"Oh what do you care?" Hotaru didn't even looked at him, she was too busy figuring out how these things worked. "You're just gonna make Sosuke clean them again later."

Shinji huffed. "That isn't the point!"

Hotaru hopped up to stick her tongue out at him, the shoes tapping lightly under her feet. They fit perfectly, and she didn't feel like she was going to fall over on the slight elevation of the pair.

Her face morphed into a grin that she showed up at Shinji. "Thanks!" she cheered, and threw herself at him.

The captain bitched about how much she weighed for a few minutes before kicking her out, into the street. He had a meeting to get to, thanks. Hotaru went without complaint, tapping around in her new shoes. She was smiling the whole was back to her room.

Her life was wonderful.

Until the night everything changed.


	6. Chapter 6

**downtomars: Mostly because she doesn't want to look crazy, yeah. Talking to the air is a little nutty.**

**LaserLightCannon: Oh Yes.**

**Wicked Neko: Is this short enough?**

* * *

"Do ya always gotta play with my hair? There's not even very much of it."

"I _absolutely _do. Hold still, I'm almost done."

Gin huffed out of his mouth but stayed obediently still while Hotaru finished tying the flower into his hair. It was one of a few dozen she had woven through the short locks. Already she and her uncle, their entire squad, as well as Shinsui, Lisa, and Sosuke were wearing their own flower crowns. Gin she had decided to put it actually inside of his hair.

To her side was a pile of yet more, all of them destined for various members of the Gotei 13. Captains, and various subordinates she decided she liked. All in all there were a few dozen of them.

Gin's leg started bouncing with boredom eventually, just as she was finally finishing putting the flowers in. The girl stepped away from the younger boy.

"Finished!" she declared. Her smiled was bright and proud.

Gin lifted his hand up to touch the flowers. He frowned as his fingers went across the soft petals she had chosen for him.

"I look like a girl," he whined. The little boy stood up, frowning at his old classmate.

Hotaru scoffed. "You do not! You just look like a boy with a flowers in his hair."

Footsteps echoed behind them, along the walkway of the squad 5 barracks. Hotaru turned around to see Shinji, and Sakanade, making their way to the pair of young he caught sight of them he stopped, and frowned at them.

He looked between one, then the other, before promptly turning back around and walking away.

Hotaru, never one to be deterred easily, went running after him with a red crown in hand. It was exact same shade as Sakanade's clothes. The fact didn't go unnoticed from the Zanpakuto, who snorted at the sight of the little girl trotting stubbornly after the captain, who's long legs should have kept him well ahead.

'Little girl' was pushing it a smidge. She was bigger now, almost the size of a teenager. That meant she was having less of a difficult time catching up than when she had been tiny.

Hotaru grew tired of their game and took a running start at Shinji, aided by the shoes he had gifted her just last week, and launched herself onto his back. Her legs locked around his neck and she grabbed his hair, managing to get a very manly shriek out of the poor man when the sudden weight almost sent him to the ground.

While he was yanking at her hair, now almost as long as his, she was stuffing the crown on top of his head. With a shriek of laughter she fell, into his arms. Whether he intended to catch her or was reaching up to dislodge her and missed was anyone's guess.

Hotaru bared her teeth up at him in a huge grin.

"Victory!" she declared. Shinji huffed and dropped her on the ground. This time Hotaru didn't even whine. She had fulfilled her objective, which was the truly important part. From her back on the floor she saw Gin approach with his arms full of her crowns, that same creepy smile on his face. Shinso was grinning down at her from over his shoulder, joined by Sakanade, Sutāraito, and Kyōka Suigetsu. Aizen popped up a few seconds later.

"I think ya killer her, Taicho," Gin mused, trying to poke her with his foot. Hotaru rolled on the floor to land a kick of her own, harmless, on his shin.

"He did not! I won't die from falling," she complained, finally rising. She had anticipated more of a challenge in getting Shinji to wear his flowers.

Now she was surrounded by Shinigami who had them on. Shinji with his quince, Gin with pink azalea, and Sosuke with peach blossoms. She would make more for the zanpakuto later, once there was more time away from the masses. She prefered not to be crazy.

Hotaru stood straight and brushed her pants off before taking the flowers from her friend. "You wanna come help me pass these out?" she asked Gin.

The boy looked at the flowers, then at her. Or so she assumed. It was kinda hard to tell with the way his eyes worked.

"Who else are you gonna get?" he asked wearily. Shinji groaned aloud, something about her being contagious, and wandered away with Sosuke at his side. Hotaru blinked rapidly at his back. For a second it looked foggy, then Kyōka Suigetsu stepped up behind him and cut off her sight. Hotaru shook it off and slid a few of her crowns to the boy.

"We're going to give one to every captain, and every lieutenant, and also some of my friends," she declared, setting off at a light pace.

"_Every_ captain?" he repeated, "All of 'em?"

Hotaru nodded, eyes shining with determination.

"Every _single _one."

Gin looked weary but he didn't back out, and the pair set off.

The first few visits were easy. Rose accepted his with a good amount of grace, as did Chikane, who was very stern that they get back to their duties as soon as they were done playing. From there they moved on to Love and Jin'emon. Both men looked exasperated, but Love let her climb on his shoulders to perch some orchids on top of his afro. Kensei took his with good spirit, and Mashiro was thrilled. From there they hunted down the squad 12. Or, Hotaru made Gin give them to Hiyori, because she was afraid of Mayuri, and Kisuke was nowhere to be seen.

Squad 2 was, well.

"Flower crowns? For the Captain and Lieutenant?" Sui Feng, who was only a little older than the pair that stood before her, furrowed her brow. A little yellow light fluttered around her shoulders.

Hotaru plucked a yellow crown off the dwindling supply set on her arm and reached up to plop it on top of the girls head. She was cute. Hotaru liked her.

"Yes please! The magnolia are for Yoroichi-taicho, and the orchids are for Marenoshin," she pointed to each crown in turn. Sui Feng looked back at her squad quarters, which, while not off limits to the pair, was not a place Hotaru desired to go into.

"Alright," the girl said finally, "I'll pass them along."

Hotaru grinned brightly. "Thank you! C'mon Gin, one more to go!"

Gin, who held only one more crown, frowned in the direction of where they were going next.

"You sure he'll even take one?" he asked, turning his mouth up.

Hotaru scoffed and started walking to the 1st squads home base. Around this time Yamamoto took a walk around the courtyards, if she recalled correctly, while Chojiro trailed behind him. It was a peaceful time for the pair.

A grin crossed Hotaru's face, one that had Gin, and everyone else there to see it, taking steps away. Gleefully she started skipping along the trail to an entrance she doubted anyone else born in the past thousand years knew about.

With her side kick following at a pace of lesser excitement, looking around as they ducked a corridor and pushed in a wall.

"Where are we?" Gin asked, stepping into the darkness of the passageway. The opening closed behind them, plunging the pair into an abyss until Hotaru unsheathed her sword.

"It's a secret," Hotaru said obviously. She lifted her blade, an Uchigatana normally, and declared lightly, "Shine, Sutāraito."

The metal glowed and melted until the blade had split into a diamond shape. The forward tip extended well behind the outer points, drawing concave sides in. The guard vanished into the hilt and a light, silver glow enveloped the blade.

Light enveloped the pair, showing a few cobwebs around the small tunnel. It was made for escape in time of disaster, as Ryūjin Jakka had told her when he was first showing off all the passageways she could sneak around in. He was a nice old spirit, battle hardened but kind in his own ways. Like a grumpy grandfather.

Gin was watching their steps as Hotaru lead the way, taking him through the corridors.

"How'd you know this was here?" Gin asked, poking his head around her shoulder. She was taller than him, just a little bit. No more than five inches.

"I know this place like the back of my hand. All the barracks, except for squad 2," she explained, "I've been running around here since I was just a little kid."

"You're still a little kid," Gin chided.

Hotaru elbowed him. "I'm bigger than you," she grumbled.

Gin made a point of standing on his toes to be taller than her. Hotaru tried to kick him again, but he caught her foot, holding up her up on one leg.

"Lemme go!" she demanded, forced to hop up on one foot to keep her balance. The tiny spikes on her shoes scraped at the stone of their passage.

"You kicked me, why would I do that?" he reasoned easily. Hotaru made a show of jabbing him with her knife, and only then did he release her.

The girl stuck her tongue out at him before they went on their way, the squabble over. Gin knew just the right buttons to push on her. The jerk.

Hotaru took every right turn, keeping careful track lest they get trapped or lost or any other horrible thing. It took them more time than she thought it would to push up a stone slab that marked that stone support of a small bridge in the court yard. The rock was the top of it, and the pair scrambled out onto the grass.

Hotaru looked around, catching sight of the head captain at the other end of the bridge. His lieutenant was with him, his pupil less eyes locked on the pair of young shinigami.

Hotaru smiled widely when she saw them and practically bounced over. Yamamoto turned around at a slower pace, his cane in hand, to watch the little girl approach. Her companion trailed after her, with only a little less confidence. Gin was a creepy kid, but Yamamoto was the strongest person alive.

"Morning! Morning Yamamoto-Taicho!" she called, grinning up at him. The old man peered down at the children before him, and gave a grunt.

"Don't the two of you have work to do? We're all very busy this week." It wasn't a real scolding, but Gin's funny smile did slip a little. Hotaru's did not.

"We got some time off from Juu-ji-taicho and Shinji," she reported. Ryujin Jakka looked at the two from his position at his wielders elbow while Gonryōmaru squinted at them from a similar space next to the second in command.

Ryujin Jakka was little more than a vast creature of flame. When she had first seen him the bright light of his spirit had almost made her go blind, and ever since then the old sword had wrapped his flames closer and shrunk himself down whenever she was around, a kindness to the child.

Gonryōmaru was a man with dark eyes and hair, tied in place with white strips of cloth. His robes were just as white, and aside from a blue undershirt and his vest the only other colored ornaments were a multitude of beads and funny lightning bolts pointing at his had long gloves and boots, and a weird looking shrine-shaped box on his back. Hotaru had always wondered what was inside, but she had never asked.

"We came to give you these," she thrust forwards the last crowns. For Yamamoto was nice red camellia, and for Chōjirō a circlet of rice flowers.

Yamamoto's eyes actually opened to look at the crown. He reached an ancient, strong hand down to pluck the red flowers out of her hands. He spent a minute inspecting his before to took his Lieutenants as well, and placed it on top of the younger man's head before applying his own.

"You children should get back to your captain's now," he advised, his old voice gravelly and wise. Hotaru saluted him snappily, pride bubbling in her chest. Chōjirō kept touching his crown, like he couldn't really believe he was wearing it.

Hotaru and Gin turned and, with a shared smile to each other, started the walk back to where they belonged.

* * *

Hotaru was one of the many that took off sprinting for the emergency stations when the beating on the boards began. All of her squad, all of the rest, were on the move, shooting past each other and weaving towards the spaces that were meant to guard in these situations.

Her path took her rounding the corner of the 1rst barracks, and smashing into the stomach of a familiar captian.

"Why is it always you?" Shinji demanded, frowning down at the girl. They had both been running full tilt when it happened, only she was the only one small enough to hit the ground. Hotaru frowned up at him. She was already nervous and on edge. There was a screaming in her head that she couldn't identify. .

"S'not like I did it on purpose," she grumbled, pushing herself back up. For once Shinji pulled her arm and helped her.

"Shut up and get moving. I don't have time for your clumsy butt," he ordered, giving her a shove. Hotaru made an offended sound. What a jerk!

"Why are we stopping?" came the voice of Love, who peered at the pair over Shinji's shoulder. Hotaru's brows drew together.

"Where are you guys going?" she asked, stepping back to see a number of other captains were also flanking the blond man. Lisa was there too, standing a little to the side. She was moving from leg to leg, nerves clear in her way.

"We've been deployed," Shinji explained, gesturing vaguely. "We've got to go, get to your station," he reiterated.

"Okay," for once Hotaru agreed without argument. The tone was too dark, so she decided to lighten it. "Bring me back something cool!"

Shinji faltered. "What cool think do you think I'm going to find on a battlefield?" he asked flatly.

"I dunno. A rock?" she offered.

Shinji rolled his eyes and shoved her head.

"Get to work, slacker," he ordered, taking off around her side. Hotaru yelped as she tipped and spun around on her toes to shout at his back but he was already gone. Dread settled deep in her stomach.

She had a bad feeling about tonight.


	7. Chapter 7

**LaserLightCannon: Not really. I pretty much just looked up flowers native to Japan and picked ones I thought would look good. **

**Wicked Neko: I've actually always really liked Gin, even before we knew he was secretly against Aizen? I thought he was funny and I liked his little ova's, and just his general personality. **

**As for Hotaru and the illusions that actually something that I put a lot of thought into. Part of it because the one weakness in Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis is that if you touch his sword before it's put into effect, the illusion doesn't work. Since Hotaru can see, interact, and to a certain extent touch the spirit itself I figured that that would, if not negate it, at least weaken it. Another factor is Sutāraito. **

**One of Sutāraito's special abilities also helps. **

**Not-Gonna-Update: You're welcome! Hotaru is a very happy person, it's just who she is. **

**Quinhywvar: I'm very glad you like it! I do wonder which standards you're talking about? There are a few. **

* * *

There was a knife in her hand and tightness in her jaw. Bright green eyes did not stray from the sliding door of the senkaimon. The Hozuki clan had their own private one, free from the regulations of Central 46. As the eldest, and only, heir of the clan it was her right to use it. All she had had to do was ask a serf and they had deposited the key into her hand.

She needed to go, there was only one place where the lost Officers could have gone to escape the order of their death. That was the world of life.

The girl needed to find them. She had to find them and see what had made their zanpakuto scream so loudly that night, half a year ago. The sound still rang in her ears.

Her arm was pulled back to stab the air when a hand caught her elbow, stopping her dead.

Hotaru tensed and spun, dropping the knife into her other hand in a smooth motion that left her with time to arc her arm up, at her assailant. That too was caught in a hand that dwarfed her own.

Green eyes snapped up to a pair a shade bluer, ones that were narrowed down at her. She swallowed thickly.

"Kaien," she greeted quietly, "Why are you here?" Her uncles good friend, and now second into command. He was in charge of the squad often, and Hotaru was very familiar with him, and with Nejibana, who stood at his side. Nejibana was a stern faced woman in a kimono that, for one reason or another, was shorted in the front than the back. It was detailed with waves and sea shells, the color of sea foam. She kept her dark hair tied into a knot on the top of her head, a few stray strands falling in perfect waves. There was a storm in her eyes, light flashing ethereally through them.

"Where are you going, Hotaru-chan?" he asked, looking at the small knife in her hand and sword on her hip. The girl worked her jaw.

"I- I have leave. I was going on, vacation." For someone who spent so much of her time hiding things, she wasn't much of a liar. Kaien arched a brow while Nejibana looked down on her in disapproval.

"You were going after the missing officers," the Shiba man corrected. There was no accusation present. It was mere fact that he stated. Hotaru's heart sunk.

"Shinji is my friend," she defended. There was a crack in her voice that she hated.

"I get it," Kaien promised, dropping his hand on top of her head. "You can't abandon your friends. But think for a minute. What can you do, that would help them? If a bunch of captains, and their lieutenants couldn't stop Urahara, what are you going to do that will change anything?"

Hotaru's face fell. It more than fell, it crumbled and shattered apart.

What could she do? Nothing. Nothing at all. She could talk to Zanpakuto, big deal. Talking to Benihime wouldn't fix what her wielder had done. Finding Shinji and the others wouldn't change Central 46's decision.

It wouldn't change anything. Up until now she hadn't thought like that. She had been to frightened to think of what would happen if she did find them. If they were Hollows, like rumors said. She was a coward without a plan, clinging to people who she could not help.

Sutāraito touched her shoulder, gripping it tightly. "We can still go," she said quietly, "I will be with you whatever you decide."

Nejibana snorted derisively. "You will go with her into a meaningless death. There is no defense, there is no pride to fight for. They aren't her people. Not even her captain."

"They- I can't just-" she wanted to scream but she didn't know who at. The world, she supposed. Urahara, Shinji, Central 46. Kaien and his sword. Herself, maybe, for not saying goodbye when she had the chance.

"I'm not going to stop you," Kaien promised her, "But this isn't safe. It isn't smart. You need to be stronger when you do this."

Not if.

When.

Hotaru said, rather foolishly, "What?"

Kaien sighed at her, and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Are you going to go now? Or actually give yourself a chance later," Kaien asked, looking down at her. Demanding. He was stern and unyielding, and made way too much sense for someone who was as irrational as he could be.

This mission she had been about to undertake was not one for a life, for she could not save theirs if they had been unable to do so. It was not a quest for honor for hers was untarnished by the events.

"Alright," she said at last, her arm dropping. Sutāraito jerked away from her.

"What? But what about Sakanade, and Shinji and-"

"I can't do anything worthwhile right now," she said softly, cutting off her precious sword. Green eyes fell closed. "Another time."

Another time.

* * *

The year was 1926 when Hotaru took her first steps into the World of the Living.

The first thing she did was shriek like a startled goat and vault backwards. Away from the fast moving _box _trying to kill her.

Another one came tearing towards her, and ripped right through her body. Then another, and another, and yet more.

What in the name of the King was going on?

The weird boxes went running around her on spined wheels, humans sitting inside and bumping along roads. They were chattering on rapidly, laughing wholly and wild in some cases, looking grim and upset in others.

Hotaru scrambled away from the wide roads, onto smaller paths as fast as she could to avoid being blown through again. It left her feeling tingly and weird. She didn't like it at all.

"What are those?" she breathed, staring wide eyed at the contraptions that ran all over the city.

Sutāraito had left her wielder to peak inside of one that was stopped next to them, this one empty. She made a funny hum.

"It's like a carriage, only there's no horses," she declared, sticking her head inside. Hotaru crept up beside her to try and see as well. Inside was a fifth wheel, much smaller than the ones on the outside, and a strange cane attached to the floor, which was also equipped with three raised platforms. Hotaru cocked her head.

"How does it work?" she asked, peering closer. There were weird markings on the other side of the wheel too. Circles with needles.

Sutāraito shrugged. "How would I know?" she reasoned. "Ask someone who lives here."

"Or died here," Hotaru mumbled, stepping back. She lifted her head and lay a hand on the hilt of her zanpakuto. There had to be a few souls around here for her to find. Pluses were abundant in cities, or so she had been told. She had graduated early, and hadn't been able to attend a trip to this realm, as most others did.

It took her a few seconds to locate her first Plus. A young girl in a dress that dropped lower in the back. There was red smeared across her mouth, and head band sat lopsided across her brows.

Hotaru had never seen a woman with hair that short before. Even Mashiro had hers longer!

The shinigami walked up to the young woman, who was shouting at a man next to her for ignoring apparent advances. How did she do this?

"Um, miss?" she started quietly. The woman didn't reply, so Hotaru lifted her voice, "Hey Lady!"

The woman's head snapped towards her. She blinked at the girl a few times. Then pointed a finger at herself.

"You talkin' to me?" she demanded, confusion crowding her pretty features.

"Well, yes," she said at after a minute. A Plus, she would have been getting used to people not seeing her. The woman looked her up and down, a frown pulling at her face.

"How come you can see me, and this shiek won't look at me?" she demanded, pointing her thumb at the living man now walking away. Hotaru wondered what a shiek was.

"Well," Hotaru said slowly, "you're dead. And he isn't. The living can't see either one of us."

The woman cocked her head. "I'm dead?" she repeated incredulously. She ran her fingers through her short hair. "Well shit."

Hotaru watched her start to pace back and forth. It must be a new development if she didn't even know.

"Hells bells," the lady went on. She stopped, and sat on the ground, looking up at the sky. Or Hotaru. She wasn't totally sure.

"I need a butt," she declared.

Hotaru stared at her, truly bewildered. A butt? Did these people even know how to speak? The language barrier disappeared when death arrived, so it wasn't a separate language she was speaking. It was just, slang maybe?

Humans were weird.

Not sure what else to do, Hotaru pulled out her sword and tapped the lady's forehead. The woman squealed and jerked away, staring up at the girl while her body started disappearing. Hotaru waved at her.

"Enjoy the after life?"

The woman was gone a second later. That, was weird.

This whole world was weird.

Hotaru set out to find more souls, and maybe figure out how those funny contraptions worked.

* * *

It was a brand new world, and every now and against Hotaru would get so caught up in all these things from the world that she would completely forget what she was meant to be doing in the first place. Sutāraito wasn't much help, she was just as preoccupied with all the new sights and sounds and things.

All of this was insane and fascinating. The funny carriages were called 'cars' and people drove them all over the place. Model T's, Model A's, all sorts. Lancia Lambda, Austin's, and chevrolet.

Hotaru liked Bentley's.

The women were equally intriguing. They were wild and quick, none of them staying still for long. Some worked in office's, taping on strange devices called 'typewriters' while others dictated the words. Other pushed and pulled cords from slots in a wall while talking into black wires, still others worked in 'factories' that produced common goods.

Men did similar things, yet different. They worked as doctors, and lawyers, and did more manual labor than the women did. A bizarre thing for Hotaru, who had been born to a world where prospective occupations were the same, to see.

She even found a few friends while she was there.

"So this afterlife, what's it like?" Molly Hayes asked, swinging a pair of scissors around her fingers. The beautician was sitting in a spinning chair while Hotaru perched on a counter in front of a massive mirror. Her legs were cross while Molly's folded over at the ankle.

"Well, I think it's nice. Kind of the same as here, but without the cars and the lighty balls," she pointed to the ceiling to just one. Molly snorted a laugh at the girl.

"They're called 'light bulbs'," she corrected.

"Light Bulbs," Hotaru said carefully. Testing the words. Tasting them. "It's pretty there, at least the part I come from. In the end it's not so different as here, except we don't have wars or that kind of thing anymore."

Molly caught the scissors and cocked her head. "It's your job to get me there, like an angel or something?"

"Erm," Hotaru shifted a little, "I don't know what an Angel is. But yes, I do guide you there."

"If you're not an angel what about God?" Molly leaned closer to her, squinting.

God. She was a god, a god of death. Hotaru scratched her cheek, trying to understand.

"I think our words are just different. We have the Soul King, who monitors everything, but Shinigami are his, ah, messengers I guess? Workers? Underlings? Something like that."

"So an angel," Molly sermized. She jumped up and walked over to Hotaru before grabbing a long lock of her pitch hair. It was nearing her hips now, her bangs still cut just above her eyes. The soul collector was still, and a little confused.

"Molly? What're you doing?" she asked, brows furrowing.

Molly twirled the strand around her finger. She was pretty, this close up. Her short hair pale as the moon and her eyes as bright as the summer sky. In that way, she was nearing the exact opposite of Hotaru, though their ages couldn't be all that far apart.

"You ever think about cutting this, doll?" she asked, looking back up at her bangs. Hotaru shook her head, drawing the hair back from Molly's slim fingers.

"I've never seen the point in it," she admitted, "And it's not very common for women to have short hair in the Seireitei. Mostly we just tie it away. Men too. My uncle's hair is almost as long as mine."

Molly hummed. "You'd look real pretty with it shorter."

Hotaru's stomach did a flip when Molly carded her fingers through and pulled from top to bottom. She almost pulled back but Molly was so focused on her hair she just sat still instead.

"Are you offering to cut it for me?" Hotaru asked at last, quietly.

Molly looked delighted. "Are you offering to let me?"

Hotaru nodded hesitantly, smiling slowly at Molly. The Plus girl grinned right back at her with a mouth full of teeth. One of her canine's was crooked. Somehow she was no less pretty.

"Take a seat," she encouraged, throwing her arm at the chair she had just occupied. Hotaru moved as she was instructed, sliding into the cushioned chair. She sat perfectly straight, her posture perfect as she had been taught.

Hotaru was tense when the snipped started, up around her ears. She felt her hair fall away from her shoulders, around the floor. Her head felt lighter with every cut and every lock lost to the scissors of the other woman.

It was a quick process, in the end. Even with the combing and the layers that Molly added to her new hair cut. She wasn't allowed to look until Molly spun her around in the chair to face a mirror on the wall.

When she saw the change, Hotaru was stunned. She stood slowly and slipped closer to the mirror, touching the new edges of her hair. It was as short as some she'd seen, still now cut close to the side of her chin. Layers rose and added volume that was previously absent in her naturally straight hair, causing it to fluff up here and there. Her bangs had been rounded out at well so it all framed her young face well.

"What do you think," Molly asked, peeking over her shoulder to grin at the girl in the mirror.

Hotaru smiled warmly. "I think that I'm going to have to track you down when I get home to do this again."

Molly laughed and threw her arm around the girl, causing her heart to skip unsteadily.

"You're sending me to heaven now then?" she asked, hanging off the 'younger' spirit.

Hotaru nodded. "If that's what you call the after life that isn't Hell, yeah. Are you ready?" she asked, carefully extracting herself and pulled her sword, scabbard and all, from her hip.

Molly stepped away and nodded, not looking at all frightened. She was a brave soul. Hotaru reached over to tap her forehead lightly.

"I'll see you later," Hotaru promised, smiling happily at her new friend.

Molly waved at her. "Later Doll."

Hotaru watched her vanish with her pulse still picked up and her head lighter than she could ever remember it being. Another look in the mirror and she started smiling wider.

This world was fun. She understood why Shinji liked it so much.


	8. Chapter 8

**Not-Gonna-Update: I love the 20s tbh. I have a Model A, actually. **

**goddragonking: Thank you very much! I hope it stays just as good ^^ **

**LaserLightCanon: Molly is a delight! There's no way she's not going to be back. **

**Wicked Neko: Lies and illusions are, unfortunately, not the same thing. So while she has a better understanding of people because she can see their souls, she can't necessarily see through their lies. Hotaru is very naive, she's been sheltered all her life and everything. She hasn't seen the bad stuff. Not just yet...**

* * *

It was dark.

There was no sun, no moon to peak through the branches of the trees that curved above her head in a high arch. She stood at the edge of the path. Behind her was a widespread clearing where lights floated through the air. Above that, an endless expanse of stars stretched over the night sky.

The path was pitched black. Stars from above did not penetrate the branches. The dirt was packed down despite there never being anyone who tread that lonely path.

Hotaru's feet were planted firmly, inches away the creeping shadow. It was dark and foreboding, and she wanted no part of it. Her hands trembled at the sight. She could see, just barely, figures peering from behind trees, from inside of the darkness. Darker shadows marked off the edges of trees, brush, and horrors.

A warm hand slid into hers.

Even the light of her precious zanpakuto couldn't penetrate the blackness. Hotaru gripped her hand tight, the breath in her throat caught.

"What is it?" she asked, voice so soft it barely existed. Sutāraito slid over and wrapped her arm, and her cloak around her wielders shoulders. It curled around Hotaru, inky blackness sharply contrasted by the constellations and quasar's that danced across the length of it, adding warmth and hope.

Sutāraito shook her head. Said nothing.

A hand landed on her shoulder and Hotaru's eyes opened to find her uncle looking down at her, concern on his face. Two smaller heads poked over from his shoulder, the little boys looking equally worried.

"Hotaru-chan?" he asked quietly, "What's the matter?"

It took her a moment to realize there was a wetness on her cheeks. The girl reached up to wipe it away. She had been napping in the courtyard of the barracks. She hadn't even known she had fallen asleep.

"Just a dream, Juu-ji," she dismissed.

Just a dream.

* * *

Kukaku Shiba was one of the scariest people in the world.

Hotaru loved her.

While the small shinigami sat at the table next to Kaien, and his fiance Miyako, the older woman was directing the gaggle of other Shiba with an iron fist. She was terrifying and violent, the exact opposite of Miyako, who was motherly, quiet, and kind.

Ganju was young, and loud, and so full of life that just seeing him talk was enough to get Hotaru smiling.

The Shiba as a whole were so very different from her own family. The Hozuki, even combined with the Ukitake, were small. Their meager size did not mean that they were prone to being together, contrary to popular belief. In fact she hadn't seen her cousins in half a century, not since joining in with the shinigami.

Her parents barely wrote her anymore. Their last letter said they were trying for another child.

Seeing the Shiba like this, a pack of them yelling and fighting and flinging themselves at each other in the middle of a fight, it filled her with an uncomfortable bitterness. Her closest family was her beloved uncle, and he should have been enough.

She was being selfish, and she knew it. She had a good life, a good squad. She had never had to fight for anything.

So why, when she watched Kaien jump over the table to pry Kukaku off of Kappei, did her stomach turn uncomfortably? Why was she so jealous?

Miyako touched her arm and when Hotaru turned to look at the kind woman she caught a glimpse of her Zanpakuto, a small sprite that was always watching over its wielder, disappear into her sleeves.

"Are you feeling alright, Hotaru?" she asked kindly. That was all it took to break the fight up, and all eyes turned on her, concern for their guest.

Hotaru had never seen anything like it.

The girl bowed her head, feeling worse for causing them all to worry.

"I'm alright," she promised, "I just don't feel well."

From her left, Kukaku's voice barked out, "Ganju! Take her to lay down somewhere."

"What!" Ganju, the youngest of the trio, yelped. "Why me?" Which really did nothing to alleviate Hotaru's sick feelings.

For the crime of making Hotaru, a supposedly bright child shrink back, Kukaku punched her brother directly _through _a wall. Kaien caught Hotaru's elbow and hauled her up in his brother's place.

"Come on," he encouraged, guiding her through his family, "There's a room down the hall that's quieter."

Hotaru couldn't looked at his eyes. "You don't have to. I can just go back to the Barracks," she disagreed.

Kaien shook his head.

"Don't be stubborn," he scolded, "It's not like we don't have the room."

Hotaru was silent for the remainder of the walk. Kaien took her down the hall, and opened the door to a simple room for her. The girl walked in to sit on the mat, looking down at the stitching on the thick blanket that went on top of it. She expected for Kaien to close the door and leave. She wasn't anticipating to look up and find him replaced by his brothers, who had a thick river of red running down his face.

She stared at him.

"Your nose is bleeding," she said unnecessarily.

Ganju looked away, scowling. "I know that!" he snapped. He was her age, a bit younger even.

Hotaru crossed her legs, and played idly with a stray strand of hair. Ganju was staring at her until she sat a little straighter and stared up at him.

"What?" she demanded sharply. She was just in a bad mood now, and she hated it. Ganju wasn't hurting her, even if he had hurt her feelings.

"Nothing!" He shouted and spun away, slamming the door behind him.

Hotaru sighed and flopped back onto the bed. Being filled with envy was tiring. She was asleep before she knew she could be.

It was dark when she was woken by a light tapping on the door. Hotaru slipped out of the blankets and crossed the room to pull it open, revealing Ganju standing on the other side, looking anywhere but at her.

Hotaru met him with a hesitant smile. She was feeling better. Less envious of the Shiba nd their wild love and comradery.

"Hi," she greeted softly, "What are you doing here?"

Ganju shifted from foot to foot before he shoved something at her, and mumbled under his breath.

"What?" she asked, taking the whatever from him.

"I said I'm sorry, okay!" he shouted. Hotaru startled before looking down at the object in her hand. It was a headband. There was a long feather that arches halfway across it, with flashes of red and yellow around the center. The ribbon part of it was a silky white to stand stark against her black hair. Hotaru started to smile, then aimed the sweet expression up at the boy.

"Help me put it on?" she requested, passing the hair band back at him. Ganju nodded, his face started to get darker. Hotaru turned around and tilted her head back to let him lay over and tie a nice bow on the opposite side of the feather, just bellow her ear.

"Where did you get this?" Hotaru asked, turning back to him once it was secured.

Ganju kicked at the ground, looking anywhere else but at the girl.

"I made it," he mumbled. Hotaru's eyes lit up.

"You made it?" she repeated, bouncing closer. The feather flickered over her head to brush the top of her left ear.

"Er, yeah?" he looked down at her, surprised. He was just a little taller than she was.

"That's so cool! Can you show me how?" she asked, grabbing one of his arms and grinning widely up at him.

Ganju was totally stiff in her grip. "I- er. Sure?"

"Thank you!" she chirped happily. This was good. She was okay.

She was always okay.

* * *

"I'm taller than you."

Hotaru squinted at Gin. "Liar," she accused.

Gin smiled that creepy smile of his and stepped closer. They were eye to eye but…

He was an inch higher than she was. An i_nch._ An inch was enough to warrant the swift kick to the shin his observation awarded him, sending the poor boy bouncing back with a hurt pout replacing his normally eiry cheer.

"You're mean," Gin accused. Hotaru caught a flash of pale blue in his eyes before it vanished once more. She had never seen his eyes fully, just brief touches between his lids.

"Only 'cause I love you," she promised, switching to a sweet smile. Gin promptly shoved her forehead. The feather on her headband fluttered onto the top of her ear. Hotaru adored it.

"Yeah, yeah. You're just a weird kid," Gin dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"You're weirder than me, you freak!" she accused, lunging to shove him over. Gin sidestepped, and let her fall flat on her face. Shinso started laughing at her, until Sutāraito punched him in the arm hard enough he yelped in pain. Hotaru didn't know why he let her make contact. He was a million times faster than either of them.

Sometimes he scared her.

Hotaru looked up at him, her whole face scrunched up from the fall and the scratch on her nose.

"You suck," she accused. It was harmless.

Gin lowered himself to the ground next to her in a crouch, his arms balanced on his knees. His head tilted a fraction to the side.

Without warning he asked, "What do you think of Izuru Kira?"

Hotaru blinked up at him, startled. She pushed herself up onto her knees, and tucked her feet under her rear end.

"Izuru?" she repeated. She had met him, once or twice, whilst she was visiting the 5th so she could see Gin, and Sosuke, to a lesser extent. Gin was a precious friend of hers, and she spent much of her free time bothering him.

Izuru was, well.

"He seems nice, but he's way too cocky," she decided. "He puts his abilities and his natural talent on a pedestal. Even with that, he's still pretty indecisive on some things. He's showing charisma, but I don't think he's a good leader. And he kind of irks me."

That wasn't entirely true. Gloomy and arrogant Wabisuke was who bothered her most, but Zanpakuto reflected their wielders souls, to a certain extent, and she did not like what she saw with his.

Not one bit.

Zanpakuto were usually how she gauged someone's personality. It was part of the reason that she liked Gin so much, was that Shinso was fun, as malicious as he could be when someone finally managed to make him mad. Both wielder and sword had the patience of saints.

Similarly she trusted Sosuke, even if he was unnerving at times, because of Kyōka Suigetsu. He was very nice, however infuriating his occasional vagueness and fondness for riddles could get.

"Izuru does?" Gin cocked his head, "You like everybody."

Hotaru shrugged. "Not him," she disagreed. "I mean, I don't hate him or anything. He just gets under my skin, I don't know why. "

Gin was looking at her intently enough that she felt her skin start to itch when his gaze, hidden as it was, burn into it.

"What?" she demanded, rubbing her arm self consciously.

Gin just smiled.


	9. Chapter 9

**LaserLightCanon: Thank you! Hotaru is adorable. **

**Zane Guardian: No hablo español. Auf Deutsch bitte? **

* * *

"You should teach me bankai."

It was said offhandedly one day by the girl as she lounged under a three, playing idly with a black butterfly. She swept her hand around it slowly, making absolutely certain not to touch the wings, lest she ground the creature.

Sutāraito had her head against one of the girls legs, resting with her eyes closed. She didn't open when she gave her response.

"No," she said simply, tapping the tips of her fingers together.

Hotaru frowned down at her. "Why not?" she asked. "I need to be stronger." To go after her friends. It was not a goal she had forgotten, and while she had trained for decades with Kaien she was well aware that she was not strong enough yet. Or fast enough, or good enough at kido.

She needed to improve. Bankai would do that.

"You're not ready yet," the zanpakuto replied easily. Idly Hotaru reached down to brush her fingers through her partners light hair. It was pale as the moon, contrary to Hotaru's dark black. They were, in some ways, opposites. And other ways exactly the same.

"How would you know?" Hotaru didn't mean to be short, but she was.

Sutāraito finally opened her eyes, black as night, to look up at her wielder. There was something in them that made the breath catch in the shinigami's chest.

"You are not ready, Hotaru Hozuki."

And that was that.

* * *

When a sudden weight smashed into the back Gin did not topple over. In fact he barely bent over to compensate from the new pressure of a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders, resting on the fold of his accessory.

"You did it!" Hotaru's cheer rang into his ear and she swung herself around so he might catch her in his arms. She was only one that was this touchy feely with him, a rather disconcerting matter considering how much he worked to creep the shit out of everyone who looked at him.

Gin stopped her move with an arm around her middle, looking down at the girl. He had gotten significantly taller now. A full 18 centimeters he estimated. It made it easy for her hang onto him and not have her toes touching the ground.

He cocked his head slightly. "Did'ja think I wouldn' ?" he inquired.

Hotaru shook her head and dropped from him to bounce backwards. Gin had no idea how she was always so chipper. It didn't make any sense at all to him.

"I knew you'd do it. You and Shinso are strong," she declared. It was funny, when she praised him, or anyone, she always included their zanpakuto.

He made a sound like a hum and prepared to say something else when a voice cut in from down the walk. They were between the First Division, where his test had been, and the Third, where he was now going to reside.

A glance revealed another shinigami standing down the road, gripping thier sword tightly as they shouted for the girl.

"We're leaving! Come on!" she barked, hopping foot to foot. It was a girl from the 13th, her eyes narrowed with impatient. There was a scarf wrapped around her forehead.

"You're leaving?" Gin was surprised. She loved the world of the living but lately the higher ups had been more careful about who they were sending.

Hotaru nodded, reaching up to twirl a dark curl. "Yusuke and I are being deployed this month," she confirmed. "To one of the battle fields."

"Ukitake is letting you?" Gin would expect him to be more careful about his niece, who he loved so much.

"Only seated officers ten and above are allowed to be sent," Hotaru's brows drew together, tight knit. "It's our turn now. Emi is the fifth seat, and I'm the sixth now, so we get to take over for Yu and Tao."

Gin put his palm on her forehead and pushed the girl, sending her leaning back. She had finally gotten good enough not to fall on her butt when he did that.

"Come back soon," he ordered.

Hotaru grinned and snapped to attention.

"Yes, Captain Ichimaru!"

* * *

Whatever Hotaru was expecting, this was not it.

Wars, she knew what they were. They were hundreds dying at a time, they were mourning and widows. She had met those that had died in them, those that had died after them. Some of her families serfs were once soldiers.

This was not war.

This was slaughter.

Hotaru stood beside Emi, staring out around them in wide eyed horror. There were bodies lying on top of each other, wounded crying under their breath in the hopes of not being shot again. Men pressed themselves onto blood soaked grass, using fallen corpses to prop up their guns. Some of the dead were not there from wounds, but from sallowed cheeks and burning skin.

They sat around, wandered, screamed harshness at each other. Some tried to tear eachother apart even after they had died already.

Gun reports ripped through the air around them, adding to the number of souls that the pair was going to have to send on their way. The anger, the sorrow, the fear, it was overwhelming. Hotaru choked on death and despair.

Emi moved first, eyes just as wide as her own. She took her sword in her hand and, without a word, started smacking down the foreheads of the Plus's. Hotaru ran after her, frowning darkly.

"Hey! We're supposed to tell them what's going on," she objected, dancing around her. She ignored this and tapped another Plus into the afterlife.

"There's too many. We don't have time to bother with pleasantries. The longer they're here the most likely they are to turn into-"

A roar split the skies above their head. Hotaru turned, drawing her sword at the same time as she cast her eyes upwards to the dark line ripping across the clouds.

"Hollows," Emi finished, her lips drawing into a thin line. Hotaru took a deep breath. There were no less than a dozen of them, their pale masks reflecting in the light of the day. Hotaru lowered her sword to the tip of the ground, took a deep breath.

From the sudden increase in screaming it was evident that the souls around them had encountered Hollows before. What had Yu and Tao been doing for the past month?

As a matter of fact,

"Weren't they supposed to be here waiting for us?" she dared glance around for the other two shinigami.

Emi wasted no time with simply drawing his blade. She ripped it from its sheath and spun it rapidly to her side, so fast it was merely a blur.

"Light them up, Moeru Shiten," she commanded, throwing the blur into the air. When it dropped back down into her hand Hotaru was exposed to flapes licking along the sharp edges of a labrys that was taller than either one of them.

Hotaru grit her teeth. She didn't like being ignored.

Before she could say as much the Hollows fell upon them, masks cracking at the mouth to let lose their screamings, so horrible it made her bones quake. She had never seen so many at once.

It was horrible.

* * *

One month.

Juushiro stood in front of the exit of the senkaimon, staring at the space when the door appeared. To his left stood Kaien, to his right, the newly minted captain of the Third. A small gaggle of Hotaru's friends, a student named Molly, Kaien's younger brother, and Koji, Genki, and Ko Sudo, a gaggle of triplets from his squad, as well as Emi's family stood behind them, staring at the same space as he was.

Very slowly, the air parted, the door opened, and from inside emerged his niece.

His niece, alone.

Yusuke was nowhere to be seen, and around her wrist was a thin strip of purple, the same shade as the scarf that the fifth seat had always worn on his head. The girls eyes were far away, staring past their shoulders.

"Hotaru?" Juushiro took a step towards her.

The girl looked at him but he got the distinct impression she wasn't seeing him. Not really.

Her green had darkned and, after a moment, he caught sight of a spark. Not the spark of life or laughter that was typical to the girl. Not the light of mischief that often wrapped around her.

This was a burning fire that grew from embers to an inferno in seconds. Her jaw set, her teeth were bared when she stalked towards them, her eyes directly on Juushiro.

He withheld the urge to back away from the look on her face.

"Send me back," she demanded, her voice harsh and scratched. "I want to go back to Luzon as soon as possible."

The captain blinked down at her a few times. "What for?"

Her eyes sparked with a malice he hadn't known she possessed. "To catch that stupid fucking cat."

He wasn't sure he wanted to know.

* * *

In all the years he had known her, Gin didn't think he had ever seen Hotaru so blood thirsty before. If it weren't so unnatural he might have been proud of the girl. As it was he wasn't surprised to see almost every other shinigami was staying well out of her way.

She hadn't been allowed to go back to Luzon to hunt down her 'cat' friend, instead she'd been put on standby. It was like someone had caged a lion that had just tasted blood.

It truly cemented his decision.

He dropped into the platform next to her, watching Hotaru's eyes remained locked in a harsh glower at the water that lapped lazily beneath her dangled feet. It was a stream that ran through the thirteenth barracks, inhabited by fat koi and distorted reflections. The bridge was of simple wood, its planks steady beneath the pair.

"That cat really got to ya?" he hazarded. She hadn't been close to Emi, so it couldn't be that she was upset over her death enough to be this pissed.

It had to be something else. Absolutely had to.

"I'll kill him," she vowed. The dark declaration did not fit his firefly. She was too light for all of this heavy shit. It was one of the reasons he hung around her. She helped ease some of the constant stress of his mission.

"You'll have to get way stronger," he drew the fifth word out, long and slow, so he could watch her nose wrinkle with it.

"I know," she grumbled.

"You know a way you can for sure get stronger?" he inquired, a lilt to his voice implying that even if she didn't, he did. Green eyes slid over to him from under dark lashes.

"How?" she asked. One of her hands was playing with the scrap of purple scarf around her wrist.

He smiled the same smile he always did.

"By becoming my lieutenant."


End file.
